Audiences

Resources

Visiting the Garden

The South Carolina Botanical Garden is a place where nature and culture meet. Explore display gardens, hike nature trails, visit the Geology Museum, peruse the Art Gallery or just relax and enjoy the 295 acres of natural beauty.

Hours and Parking

The Garden is open every day, dawn to dusk, free of charge. More specifically, the Garden grounds are open for visitation from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. from March through October and 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. from November through February. Parking is free, too, and is very plentiful in the main parking lot, which is located just below the Bob Campbell Geology Museum. The parking lot is large enough to accommodate buses and RVs. Large groups that plan to begin their visit near the front of the garden (i.e., by the caboose) are encouraged to drop off their passengers and then park their buses below the geology museum, as only two bus parking spots are available in the front parking lot, and buses and RVs are not allowed in car spaces.

The gated entrance to the Garden is effectively open from sunup to dundown, while the secondary entrance off Perimeter Road is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. At all other times, the secondary gate is closed (including university holidays). Therefore, the main entrance should be used when the secondary entrance is closed off. Once the secondary gate is locked, to leave the Hayden Conference Center/Hanover House area, vehicles will have to travle through the Schoenike Arboretum and leave through the main entrance gate.

Whether you choose a guided tour or a self-guided visit, you can spend an entire day or an hour exploring gardens, discovering plants or experiencing the natural world. Programs are available for adults and for school/children's groups. Garden staff can help customize your tour to include visits to the Bob Campbell Geology Museum, Fran Hanson Visitor's Center & Art Gallery and specific areas of the Botanical Garden.